victoria chester

4 hours per day teaching English to Saudi national ladies. Standard duties included planning and delivering lessons, marking assignments, exam preparation and assessments, personal development training.

During my postgraduate studies, I gained experience in lecturing and have had an active role in teaching assistance (with hours averaging around 6 per week) for several undergraduate biological courses including: Ecological Modelling, Microbiology, Cell Biology, Community Ecology and Vertebrate Dissections. I have a personal interest in ornithology and have been selected to lead student groups to identify and educate others about birds across a range of habitats, on field skills Ornithology Field ID Courses with Newcastle University (40 hours per week x 2 annually) . I also have experience in lecturing on Ecology and Ecological Modelling and have presented my work at several international conferences including ISME annual 2009 and 2010 (International Society for Microbial Ecology) and AFI (Antarctic Funding Initiative) 2008 and 2009.

I have recently been working for a clinical research organisation and have gained experience working in accordance with CDISC industry standards- in the creation of SDTM datasets according to client specifications, producing data definition documents (DDDs) and making updates to clinical data programmes according to changing clinical protocols.

British Antarctic Survey, Antarctica (2008-2009); Zarnesti, Translyvania (2006)
For my PhD fieldwork I was based at both Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula and also spent some time in the field on Mars Oasis glacier. I aided in equipment organisation and logistics, constructing treatment plots with ambient chambers and in collecting various soil measurements and samples. Soils were collected over a 2000km gradient along the Antarctic Peninsula in what is currently thought to be the largest soil survey ever conducted in Antarctica. Soils were later biologically and chemically profiled and models constructed to examine how spatial and environmental heterogeneity can be used to predict microbial communities.
In Transylvania I spent some time with the Carpathian Large Carnivore, a conservation and awareness scheme set up by local ecologists. The project collaborated with the local tourist industry to raise awareness about conservation issues and the potential revenue to be made by wildlife promotion aiming to instil a more positive attitude of local farmers and businesses. I spent time learning about the history and ecology of the Eurasian Lynx, Grey Wolf, Brown Bear and Eurasian Beaver, also how to identify and track in the wild and reported on how future management strategies would benefit conservation efforts.